Mechaform.com SkyGuardian "Not Skyfire"

[Mechaform]

First things first I would like to say hello to everyone.I am the owner of a new company called Mechaform.We are going to various websites around the net to let people know we will be making transforming related robots.We want to be very interactive with the fans because its important fellow collectors guide us in the process since they are they ones buying so it only makes sense.I have included a attachment of our first project SkyGuardian that was first shown a few weeks back at TFcon but we had not officially announced our company name until now Mechaform.We really hope fans can help guide us by posting feedback in threads or even direct PM and most of all emails once our website mechaform.com is set up.You can also reach us on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/mecha.form.7 We have already made changes since our first showing based off feedback read so let us know what you think.We are going to try and be available as much as possible on various forums and other forms of media to serve your needs.Cheers!

[Trent]

Hello and welcome to the boards. I have been keeping an eye on your thread over on TFW and this has caught my interest. I hope it turns out well. Of the other Skyfires on offer yours certainly looks the most promising overall. The alt mode looks pretty cool and for the most part the bot mode looks good as well. My only areas of concern are the head scuplt and the size. I would REALLY be interested in this for my MP collection but I hope it isn't to small and from your renders it appears (to me) to have an animated chin happening.

Do you have any info on estimated release date yet? And there be any possibility for group buy discounts?

Anyway, best of luck and I hope you churn out a great product!

[Mechaform]

Hello and welcome to the boards. I have been keeping an eye on your thread over on TFW and this has caught my interest. I hope it turns out well. Of the other Skyfires on offer yours certainly looks the most promising overall. The alt mode looks pretty cool and for the most part the bot mode looks good as well. My only areas of concern are the head scuplt and the size. I would REALLY be interested in this for my MP collection but I hope it isn't to small and from your renders it appears (to me) to have an animated chin happening.

Do you have any info on estimated release date yet? And there be any possibility for group buy discounts?

Anyway, best of luck and I hope you churn out a great product!

Thanks for the welcome and the time you have taken to comment Can you let me know what size exactly you think would work best?Also we will talk and have another look at the face again based on your feedback.Right now we are still working on a number of details and cant give a release date yet but once we can we will be sure to let people know.I have not had a thought on a group buy but its something we can explore what did you have in mind?

[Trent]

Thanks for the welcome and the time you have taken to comment Can you let me know what size exactly you think would work best?Also we will talk and have another look at the face again based on your feedback.Right now we are still working on a number of details and cant give a release date yet but once we can we will be sure to let people know.I have not had a thought on a group buy but its something we can explore what did you have in mind?

I think the best thing for your company is to decide exactly what sort of toy you are going to produce. I agree with allowing fans to have input and to take into consideration what they say, but in the end if you ask 1000 different people what sort of Skyfire they want, you will get 1000 different answers. You need to accept that you are not going to be able to please everyone and make some of these decisions and stick with them despite what the fandom say.

Another consideration is that you have competition. There are currently 2 other designs working their way toward production. If you want to produce your Titan to fit in a particular range, say classics, then you need to see who you're competing against and do your best to produce a figure better than theirs.

As I stated before, I think so far, your product (to me) is the most appealling. It is the best all round Skyfire and you have a potential ht on your hands.

I believe you need to take a leaf out of Takara's book when it comes to design. If you want Titan to be as G1 as possible, then you have to spend a lot of time studying the G1 cartoon character. For example, here is a screenshot of Skyfire:






And here is a screenshot to give you an idea of his scale.




Hope this helps.

[Mechaform]

I think the best thing for your company is to decide exactly what sort of toy you are going to produce. I agree with allowing fans to have input and to take into consideration what they say, but in the end if you ask 1000 different people what sort of Skyfire they want, you will get 1000 different answers. You need to accept that you are not going to be able to please everyone and make some of these decisions and stick with them despite what the fandom say.

Another consideration is that you have competition. There are currently 2 other designs working their way toward production. If you want to produce your Titan to fit in a particular range, say classics, then you need to see who you're competing against and do your best to produce a figure better than theirs.

As I stated before, I think so far, your product (to me) is the most appealling. It is the best all round Skyfire and you have a potential ht on your hands.

I believe you need to take a leaf out of Takara's book when it comes to design. If you want Titan to be as G1 as possible, then you have to spend a lot of time studying the G1 cartoon character. For example, here is a screenshot of Skyfire:






And here is a screenshot to give you an idea of his scale.




Hope this helps.

Hi Trent this helps loads! we are very happy that fans care enough to provide so much time in helping.I have a question because after looking at these great screen shots what size do you think our SkyGuardian should be 10 11 or 12 inches tall?Because it looks like this is a very important subject with fans.

[Trent]

Hi Trent this helps loads! we are very happy that fans care enough to provide so much time in helping.I have a question because after looking at these great screen shots what size do you think our SkyGuardian should be 10 11 or 12 inches tall?Because it looks like this is a very important subject with fans.

Like I said it depends on what line (classics or masterpiece) you want him to fit into. I also imagine that how big he is affects his detailing, articulation, joint strength, etc. all factors that need to be considered. If you decide to make him bigger, does that mean that you have to do some redesign?

As for sizing, 10 inches is a good size for him to fit into classics. However it is too small for MP. 12 inches would be a good MP size. And no matter which line you pick, if it is a great product, it will sell.

And something to think about with your thread over on TFW, all the requests that are being made, are they from the vocal minority? Because remember, if it is the same 10 or so people telling you how this toy 'has' to be, they are not necessarily representative of the majority of your market. By catering to their personal preferences, you may be excluding a greater number of people.

Just some food for thought.

[MayzaPrime]

Hi Trent this helps loads! we are very happy that fans care enough to provide so much time in helping.I have a question because after looking at these great screen shots what size do you think our SkyGuardian should be 10 11 or 12 inches tall?Because it looks like this is a very important subject with fans.

Hi and welcome!

Im impressed that you would take the time to come to Ozformers and ask for some feedback from fans, so thank you

For me, would love to see the 'not Jetfire' in scale with the old MP-1 and 4 as it would fit very well with the current MP line.

Would it have any metal parts? (i do understand that this might cost more)

Cheers

[Sinnertwin]

Welcome
I too have been following with great interest. As for suggestions i have two

The head sculpt:
i cant quite put my finger on it, but it seems old and a touch tall

The elbow joints:
A minor suggestion, but i would prefer white coloured joints as opposed to the grey that appears in your render.

All the best

[kaiden]

hi Mechaform,

welcome and thanks for taking the time to talk to us.

my first concern is the head sculpt, its too long and not round like all g1 versions - he looks like an old man

i also agree with sinnertwin that the grey elbow joint breaks up the colouring of his arm too much and its preferable to be white.

he does look very tall and lanky though, i've noticed the thighs looks very hollow and there because the is a gap between the hips and chest, it accentuates his lower torso as being too thin.

lastly i am not liking the legs at all really. the dont look very nice and it looks like there will not be much articulation in the knees or feet.

if this product is going to be the size of the Takara/Hasbro MP line, then it needs to fit in more with the aethetics.

here is a photo showing what i mean.



Fantoys' Quakewave when compared shows how close to design style they are. And I would much prefer a bulky but well proportioned Jetfire/Skyfire than a tall, gappy one.

[VERT]

I do like what I see I would also give him better more MP style hands.